Driving to work this morning, looking at gas at $3.44/gallon, it made me wonder how easily the world could gang up and cripple the US by saying, "No soup for you!!!" and cutting off the supply of oil. Obviously the strategic reserve would only help a very minimal bit, since that will be first and foremost designated for military assets.
But how quickly would the economy hit the shitter given our limited ability to produce crude nationally? I think it's what, something like 20% tops of our yearly gross oil consumption can be handled by domestic oil? A full cutoff would instantly drive prices through the roof, grinding most of the US to a standstill economically. It's scary to think about how precarious of a position we're in. I know I can't afford $5+/gallon gasoline, let alone the other 80% of products that use some form or other various petrochemical on a daily basis.
But how quickly would the economy hit the shitter given our limited ability to produce crude nationally? I think it's what, something like 20% tops of our yearly gross oil consumption can be handled by domestic oil? A full cutoff would instantly drive prices through the roof, grinding most of the US to a standstill economically. It's scary to think about how precarious of a position we're in. I know I can't afford $5+/gallon gasoline, let alone the other 80% of products that use some form or other various petrochemical on a daily basis.